Of Stealthy Spots and Thieving Claws
by ShippyWrites
Summary: Marinette wasn't much for magic, much less crime, but here she was anyway, clad in a magical costume with bags full of food taken from the castle. She saved the kingdom from destruction on the daily, it was fine to snatch some bread. The King wouldn't miss it anyway.


This is a super old story I've had for like a year so pardon the trashiness

This is probably my only post for awhile since my laptops down and it was hell trying to upload this

Enjoy!

* * *

If you had told Marinette Dupain-Cheng that magic was real, she would have laughed in your face while calling the village doctor, but here she was now with a...what was it...a kwami? In her hands.

"Tikki, or whatever your name is, this can't be real. You must be from some story I read as a child. There's no way you exist! Magic isn't real! Luck isn't real! That fact that you're not real is the only thing keeping me from screaming and calling the police!"

"It's not a dream, Marinette! You've been chosen to protect your village from criminals and wrong do-ers! You will have a partner, and together you will care for your people!"

Marinette couldn't help but cringe at the word "partner". A partner?

"Are they...Are they my age?"

"Probably."

The girl huffed, pursing her lips and scrunching her nose.

"Oh, it won't be so bad, Marinette! The past Ladybugs and Chat Noirs have gotten along nicely, fallen in love, in fact!"

Love? Oh, who has time for love? She had a career to start.

Seeing the hesitation in Marinette's eyes, Tikki zipped up to be nose to nose with her.

"Please, Marinette? Please try it?"

Biting her lip, she stared at the small being, bluebell meeting royal blue.

"I'll do it." She finally relented, "But if I don't like it, I quit."

"Of course! To transform, all you have to say is 'spots on'!"

"Spots on?"

With the words, Tikki seemed to disappear into the earrings she wore and pink light began to tickle her ankles. The sensation continued, while it wasn't terrible, it wasn't pleasant either. Once it was finished, she allowed herself a sigh of relief before she rushed to her mirror.

She wore a bright red mask, black spots adorning it. A hooded cloak wrapped around her, soft but light, spots on it as well. On her feet were knee length boots, black with red laces and cuffs, black pants tucked into them. Actually, it was more of a jumpsuit than shirt and pants. Hand clutching the full length mirror, she noticed the gloves, similar to her boots. Reaching behind her, she felt a large bow, along with a quiver of arrows on her red belt.

As she pulled an arrow out to examine it, she noticed a small...something. Upon further inspection it seemed to be a yo-yo, something she found odd to have along with the her weapon.

"Okay, Tikki, now what?" She asked softly, still admiring the costume. Her question was met with silence, leaving her slightly panicked and confused.

"Tikki?! Tikki, do I do?!"

The window. You can leave now.

Marinette paused at the small voice, wary, but ultimately made it to the window. Her costume was surprisingly silent despite it's heaviness.

"Okay. Here we go."

With a final breath and flash of red, she was gone.

...

Adrien Agreste had always believed in magic, just as his mother had. When she told stories, he took them as the gospel truth, keeping them in his heart. Even once she was gone, his belief remained, in honor of her if nothing else. In the mind of the blonde boy, magic was real.

So sitting on his lush bed with a magic cat on his head didn't seem all that unreal.

"So...you'll get me out of here? You'll let me help my people?" He asked cautiously, nervously.

"You should be able to do that as a prince, but yes."

Adrien huffed, slouching slightly.

"I can't do anything, Plagg! Not with Father! My people are starving and I'm in my tower with an unlimited amount of everything!"

"You're not king, they're not your people quite yet." Plagg pointed out, flying in front of his face.

"Plagg…" He whined, "I hate going out in public and seeing the children on the street. Father doesn't care, but I do. I'll take any chance I get to help my future people."

"Then I guess you should put on the ring and get your butt out there."

Adrien shot up onto his feet, rushing to his desk and shoving the silver ring onto his right finger.

"How do I do this?"

"Say, 'claws out'." The kwami explained, still zipping around the room.

"That's it?"

"Yep. Oh! And you'll have to feed me afterwards."

"Transform, detransform, feed you, anything else?"

"Yeah, you have five minutes after you do your special thing."

"What thing?!"

"Cataclysm. Just say it, stuff will happen, and the next thing you touch will be destroyed. Don't touch your partner."

"Okay! Plagg, claws out!" As Plagg flew into the ring, his last words clicked in Adrien's mind, "WAIT?! PARTNER?!"

...

Ladybug was running, sprinting across the rooftops of her town. She felt free and weightless, despite all the cloth and weaponry that hung off her. The wind was on her face, stinging her eyes slightly, but she didn't care. Gosh, she didn't think it's be so...amazing.

Nothing could stop her, she was invincible, she was-

"Oof!"

Ladybug almost screamed when she crashed into a tall, dark figure. Looking up, she noted it was a boy, his eyes scrunched closed with blonde bangs covering them.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't see where I was going! Are you okay!? I'm so, so, so sorry! I-" She cried, waving her hands frantically and blushing brightly. It didn't even seem odd to her that there was a boy on the roof she was so panicked.

"It's okay! I'm fine!" He breathed, raising a hand to rest it on his chest, "You just kinda...knocked the wind out of me…"

"Ohhhh! I'm so sorry! I'm such a klutz! Are you sure you're okay!? Do we need to go to the doctor!? I can't afford it, but I don't want you to be in pain, I'm sure I can find the money-"

"Hey, no, I'm fine." He reassured, shaking his head to get the hair out of his way.

"I feel terrible! Again, I'm so sorry! Gosh I'm pathetic! I-"

"Ma'am! I'm fine! Please, calm down!" Marinette let out a quiet gasp as he held her chin and gently made her look at him, "I swear, it's okay. I'm not mad. I would never be angry over something as small as this, I promise."

"I...Thank you. Again, I apologise, I didn't mean to…"

Ladybug trailed off, now actually examining the boy in front of her.

He...He must be her new partner.

I mean, his costume was what one could expect from someone who was named Chat Noir. His cloak was similar to hers, but black with, what appeared to be, cat ears and a golden bell on the clasp. He wore a green vest with black pants and boots, silver adorning the tips of the footwear. A brown belt rested on his waist, a large sword hanging off it. He wore brown cuffs, probably the same material of the belt, silver buckles and green decorating them. On his hands were leather fingerless gloves.

As she looked up at him, she couldn't help but notice his handsome appearance. His eyes were a vivid green, cat like, but still enchanting, just like his glowing blonde hair. There was a black mask hiding his face, but not the attractiveness of it. And his expression...his smile… so genuine and soft...she couldn't help the blush creeping onto her cheeks.

Meanwhile, Chat wasn't doing much better. This girl who had, quite literally, crashed into his life was gorgeous. He'd seen many pretty women, but this one left him speechless. Her eyes were just so… and her hair...and her blush...ugh! His brain was short circuiting, how was he supposed to describe an angel?!

It wasn't until a crash was heard that they managed to look away.

"I-I'm Ladybug…" She mumbled shyly, pulling away from him, "You must be my new partner?"

"I...Yeah. If Chat Noir is the one you're looking for?" He grinned, bashfulness slowly fading away.

"Hm. It rings a bell." Ladybug teased, already feeling comfortable with the boy.

"I should hope so."

Their eyes met once again, a silence falling over them before another crash startled them.

"Do we...go investigate?"

"I think so. It's what we're gonna do now, huh?"

"Yeah. Are you ready...partner?" Chat offered his hand, nervous smile on his face.

"Absolutely."

Taking his hand in hers, she jumped.

...

"Stop right there!"

The words flew out of Chat Noir's mouth before he could realize this wasn't a fairytale. This was real life and he could easily die. He felt Ladybug look at him in disbelief as the criminal turned around.

He was a tall and muscular man, big beard and a number of scars on his face. The duo gawked at him, until his dark chuckle spooked them out of their stupor.

"You kids run home, now. I'd hate to have to hurt you."

His wicked grin suggested otherwise.

"We're not kids!" Ladybug shouted defiantly, reaching behind her back as Chat slowly moved to grab the handle of his sword.

"Step back and let me finish what I was doing."

"What were you doing?" Chat asked, tilting his head innocently.

"Why would I tell you?"

"Well, we're just kids, no? What can we possibly do?"

"I'm not stupid!" He growled, stepping closer to them. Ladybug saw Chat reaching behind his back, pulling something out.

"I'd say otherwise."

Before anyone knew what was happening, Chat pulled out a baton of sorts, swinging it towards the man's knees. Ladybug gasped at the sickening crack that rang out as he collapsed to the ground. Chat, however, seemed unphased, running past him to the end of the alleyway.

"Tie him up!" He shouted back at her, not stopping.

With a deep breath, Ladybug stumbled behind the man and pulled out her yo-yo. Carefully, she used the rope to tie his hands together, then extending it to his feet. Before she could finish, she heard several footsteps approaching.

Thinking fast, she pulled out her bow and readied an arrow, aiming at the sound.

"Woah, woah! It's just me, Ladybug."

Relaxing at the sound of Chat's voice she put the weapon away.

"Look who I found."

As he got closer, she noticed two small children at his sides, holding his hands.

"Oh! Children!"

"You wanna tell us your names?" Chat asked softly, crouching down with them.

"I'm Lance! And this is my brother, Keith!" One piped up, bouncing on his toes, blue eyes shining.

"Wonderful! Do you know your address?"

Keith nodded slowly, black hair bobbing.

"Great! Ladybug do you have-" Chat looked up at his partner, only to see an untied hand approaching her neck, "Ladybug!" Was the only word he could manage as he yanked out his sword and gently pushed the kids down, sprinting to Ladybug and pulling her away from the man. Ladybug choked and buried her face in Chat's shoulder when she heard the man's anguished scream and felt something wet land on her sleeve.

"Don't look." Chat whispered, slowly moving to his knees, pulling Ladybug with him. She felt the children snuggle against her and Chat, faces away from the man and blade on the ground.

"Don't look."

...

Ladybug and Chat Noir were watching from a rooftop as police slowly the unconscious criminal off the street and onto to their wagon. They had promptly gotten Lance and Keith home, wishing them the best before running away.

"I thought you'd killed him." Ladybug whispered, staring at the puzzled officers, "I thought he was dead."

She felt Chat stiffen, hands twitching.

"I would've if I had to."

His solemn tone scared her, creating a lump in her throat. This...this wasn't what she'd expected from him. Even if they'd only known each other a few minutes, she was sure he wasn't a killer.

He wasn't...right?

"That's insane."

"What?"

"Y-You're crazy! You don't know me! Why would you kill for me! I'm not worth it! I should've saved myself! You just met me! You're insane, Chat Noir!"

Her vigor faded as she saw the hurt creeping into his eyes, along with a sort of sadness.

"Ladybug, it's our job now. We have to protect the innocent, no matter the cost."

Ladybug opened our mouth to protest but her mind began to think of the terrible things he could have done to those two boys. They were children. He was a criminal.

It was their job now.

"I don't think I like this job." Ladybug whispered, watching as the man, now missing a hand, was carried away to the nearest doctor, "How can you accept it so easily?"

Chat sighed, biting his lip before answering:

"I've been around it my whole life. Criminals being sentenced to death, and a few unlucky times I've witnessed the act. I've been raised with stories of war. I hate to say it, but I'm desensitized, in a way."

"I wasn't raised that way."

"I can tell."

...

"Tikki...I can't do this."

"Marinette? Why?"

"My partner chopped a guy's hand off today! Tikki that's terrible! I can't deal with that kind of violence!" Marinette cried, recalling the moment she saw blood on her sleeve, "Tikki, this isn't for me."

With great sadness, the kwami nodded, folding her little hands together.

"I understand, Marinette."

The girl nodded and turned away momentarily, a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"Will there have to be a new Ladybug? To replace me?"

"Yes. Chat Noir will receive a new partner."

She bit her lip, thinking of Chat Noir. Would he care? Would he blame himself if she suddenly left? Would he take it personally?

"In order to quit, you'll have to take off the miraculous and leave them exactly where you found them. In the morning, they will be gone."

Marinette raised her hand to remove an earring, only to stop.

"I want to give Chat an explanation. I don't know why, but I feel he'll take it personally if I quit."

Hope swelled in Tikki's chest as she beamed in agreement.

Her chosen wasn't gone yet.

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So I guess I have to finish chapter two then come back to hell to upload it thank you for your patience

Please review and have a pawsome day!


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